Karimov, who crushed all opposition in the Central Asian country of Uzbekistan as its only president in a quarter-century of independence from the Soviet Union, yesterday died of a stroke at age 78, the Uzb.

Karimov's daughter had earlier this week said that her father had suffered a brain haemorrhage.

The 78-year old leader had been running an authoritarian regime in the central Asian country since 1989, suppressing opposition and cultivating no apparent successor.

Uzbekistan celebrated its independence day on Thursday and it was widely assumed that the government was to make an announcement on his condition. (ANI)